But Urbani said smart wearables are on track to surpass the less functional basic wearable category in 2018.

"Smart wearables will quickly move from a smartphone accessory primarily focused on notifications to a more advanced wearable computer capable of doing more processing on its own," he said in a statement.

IDC said it sees Apple Watch and the watchOS operating system capturing some 58 per cent of the market this year, projecting sales for 13.9 million units. Apple has not released any sales figures so far.

Android and Android Wear, the operating system from Google, is expected to grab a 17.4 per cent market share with 4.1 million units selling this year, according to IDC.

Smart wristwear, including watches and bands that are capable of running third-party applications, is a key growth driver, according to IDC.